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1 Dead In Queens House Explosion; Gas Leak Suspected
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 25, 2009
Modified Apr 25, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 25, 2009
Modified Apr 25, 2009
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Firefighters found a woman's body under the rubble of a Floral Park house on 260th Street that exploded yesterday afternoon. The Daily News reports the body was discovered four hours after the 4:50 p.m. explosion: "Her husband was at work and her three kids were in an after-school program." The woman's husband, Dindail Boobram, told the NY Times that his wife didn't show up to pick up the kids.
The house was completely leveled and the NY Times reported the "resulting fire quickly spread to three neighboring ones, creating an inferno that prompted the evacuation of the entire street." Houses shook and debris flew into the neighborhood, frightening residents. Two neighboring homes were badly damaged and may be condemned. Several other people, including residents, firefighters and a Con Ed worker, were injured.
According to the Daily News, neighbors Stanley and Vita Barth noticed their electricity was off and called Con Ed. Twenty minutes later, they called again when they smelled gas; Stanely Barth said, "They came pretty promptly." After finding evidence of a gas leak in their basement, the utility worker went outside to check the manhole—and then the house across the street exploded. The Times offers the timeline: Con Ed received the gas leak call at 3:35 p.m., a crew arrived at 4 p.m., and the manhole cover was removed around 4:30 p.m.
Con Ed spokesman Chris Olert wasn't immediately sure if other gas leaks were reported in the area, but told the News the manhole cover removal may not be the cause, "There are scores of things that can trigger this, but what would need to have happened is a spark in the sewer. Our guys open manholes on a regular basis."
Tagged
con ed
explosion
gas leak
queens
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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